Visiting Hong Kong-based jockey Zac Purton sent Godolphin import It's Somewhat (USA) straight to the lead in Saturday's $3 million Group I The Star Doncaster Mile (1600m) at Randwick and made every post a winner.
It was a lucky last minute ride for Purton who received the mount when Joao Moreira was switched to ride lightweight stablemate Spectroscope who won a free ticket into the race after winning the Doncaster Prelude.
"A little piece of luck goes a long way doesn't it," Purton said.
"I watched him win a race here over 2000 metres and thought he's a horse with a good action. I just let him use his action.
"They haven't been making much ground and John said to me, "He's very fit, go forward".
"The plan wasn't really to lead but when he landed there I was happy enough to be there and let him keep rolling."
"At the 300 I was pretty confident because he was going through his gears quite nicely but at the 100 I could feel Happy Clapper coming and I was just hoping the post would get to me before it got to him.
The victory was O'Shea's third Doncaster after Private Steer (2004) and Racing To Win (2006) while Purton won the race in 2014 aboard Sacred Falls.
"It's just special to win in the blue," O'Shea said.
"A great ride Zac Purton, I've owed him a decent ride for a while. I feel sorry for Joao because if the black horse didn't win he'd have been on it."
It's Somewhat (Dynaformer) defeating Pat Webster's Happy Clapper (Teofilo) by a half-length with the Kris Lees-trained Sense Of Occasion (Street Sense) three and a half lengths back in third. (photos Steve Hart)
Happy Clapper had finished second to the champion Winx in 2016.
It was the sixth stakes win in Australia for the son of Dynaformer advancing his overall record to 8 wins, 3 seconds and 7 thirds from 31 starts with earnings of $2,889,624
Previously trained in England by Mark Johnston, It's Somewhat was a Listed winner over seven furlongs at Newbury back in August 2013 he then finished second, beaten a neck, in the Group II Juddmonte Royal Lodge Stakes over a mile at Newmarket.
In July 2014, he was third behind Mukhadram and Trading Leather in the Group One Coral-Eclipse over a mile and a quarter at Sandown Park.
By Americain's sire Dynaformer, It's Somewhat is out of the unraced Royal Academy mare Sometime herself a daughter of the grand broodmare
